Display container and holder



May 24, 1938. J. GUTTMAN DISPLAY CONTAINER AND HdLDE-R Filed Feb. 29, 1.936

INVENTOR Jon/v GuTTMfl/v.

BYGQWLMASVWeA ATTORNEY Patented May 24, 1938 UNIT ED STATES PATENT oFFics 2,118,507. DISPLAY CONTAINER AND HOLDER Application February 29, 1936', Serial; No, 66 ,419:

Z Claims.

The present invention relates to display containers and holders for wrist watches, bracelets, wrist bands and similar articles.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide-a convenient and attractive device for containingand displaying articles of'theclass described.

Another object of the invention is to provide a display container with a holder for the article,

whereby the latter may be displayed in a position similar to that which the article assumes while beingworn.

A further object of the invention is to provide a display container with a removable holder of such construction that the article carried thereby may be readily and thoroughly inspectedby a prospective purchaser without detaching the article from the holder.

A yet further object of the invention is generally toprovide a display container of improved construction: for efiectively' and attractively displaying articles of the class described;

Briefly described; the container and holder, constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a support or cabinet having spaced walls defining a recess, together with a tray pivotally mounted in the cabinet and adapted in one position to close the recess and in another position to project within said recess. The tray is adapted to receive a holder-for a wristwatch having a strap attached thereto, thearrangement being such thatthe wrist watch and the attached strap are disposed in substantially the same relative posi- 3 tion. as that which they assume on the wrist of the wearer. The holder is preferably removable from the tray so that the wrist Watchand the attached strap may be carefully and thoroughly inspected by aprospective purchaser without being detached fromthe holder; When the'tray is moved from display position ,to cabinet closing' position; the wrist watch and its attached strap are completely covered and thus protected. The invention will best be understood from the following, description considered with reference to the accompanying drawing in which it is 11.- lustrate-d.

In the drawing;

Fig. 1 is; a perspective view-of the display container showing the tray in cabinet closing position;

Fig.2 is a side view of the container, with parts broken; away, showing the tray and article holder in; open or: articleedisplay position;

Fig. 3. is. a front view of the container and articleholder in article-display position;v

Fig. 4 is a. sectional View on the line, 4-4 of. Fig. 2 with the; article holder shown inelevation;

Fig. 5 is, a transverse sectional view of the holder;

Fig. 6 is. a side w'ew of: the holder partly elevation: and; partly in sections Referring to the drawing in. detail the dis-, play container of the present invention comprises a support orcabinet In, a tray l2 pivotally mounted in said cabinet, and an article holder l4 removably carried, bysaid tray. Said cabinet comprises a bottom wall l6, side walls I18, a top Wall 20,, a rear wall 22' and a front wall 24. The front wall 2 4 is, considerably lower than. the rear wall 22, and the upper edges 26) of'theside walls l8 are inclined upwardly from the upper edge 28 of; the front, wall 24: tolthe-frontedge 30 of the top wall 28-. Thus, said walls define a recess, and the free; edges of said walls define an entrance opening; disposed at an angle; to the front and rear walls;.. The support H1 and the tray I2 may be made of any suitable material such as paper, cardboariwood; etc'., and maybe-covered with, ornamental sheet material, suchas plush or velvet,

The tray 12 comprisesa curved front wall 32 and planar side walls 34. Saidtray ispositioned between and is pivotallymountedv on the; side Walls l8 by pivot pins 36 which pass. through said side Walls and engage the; side walls of the tray. A small knob 38, in the term of a headed pin, is fixed to the tray t2 adjacent one end of the curved wall 32 and constitutes a fingerpiece for W moving the tray to open and closed positions, and also acts as a stop for the tray in open position by engaging the" upper edge 28 of the front wall 24. The front edge 30: of the topwall 20 constitutes a stop for the tray in closed position of the latter. The pivot points of theside walls 34- of thetray are slightly eccentric in relation to the distancebetween the ends of said walls, the distance between the pivots- 36 and the edgev 39 of the curvedwall' 32 being slightly greater than the distance between said pivots and the edge 4| of said curved wall. By reason of this construction, the edge 39 engages thefront edge 3!]. of the top wall 20 when the tray is in closed position, thus constituting a stop limiting the movement of the tray in closed position and preventing said edge from projecting between side walls l8. Also by reason of the eccentric mounting of the tray, a slight clearance is provided between the edge 4| and the front wall 28 when the. tray I2 is in closed position. Thus, the tray may be readily moved to open or article-display position without engaging said front wall 24 until said tray is in fully opened position, as best shown in Fig. 2, when further movement thereof in the same direction is prevented by engagement of the edge 39 of the tray or the knob 38 with the upper edge portion of the front wall 24. The side walls 34 of the tray [2 frictionally engage the inner surface of the side walls I8 and thereby tend to hold the tray in closed position. This frictional engagement is augmented by the plush covering material with which said tray, as well as the container ID, may be provided.

The holder I4 comprises a member which conforms substantially in peripheral contour to that of the human wrist so that when the article is positioned thereon, it is displayed in such manner as to simulate the appearance of the wrist watch and its attached strap, as they would appear when on the wearers wrist. Said holder l4 comprises an ellipto-cylindraceous body 44 of suitable material, such as light wood, having a relatively wide peripheral surface 46 and confronting peripheral side flanges 48 extending beyond said surface. Said flanges are provided by securing to the sides of the body 44 discs 50 of cardboard or other suitable material. As best shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the peripheral surface of the body 44 is covered with a layer 52 of velvet or similar material. Similarly the cardboard discs 50 have velvet coverings 54 which are inturned over the edges of said discs and are adhesively secured at the marginal edge portions of the inner surface of the discs between the latter and the body portion 44. Said discs 50 are secured to the sides of the body 44 by an adhesive, as indicated by the reference numeral 56. The holder l4 frictionally engages the inner surface of the side walls 34 of the tray and is thereby removably retained therein. Due to the difference in curvature between said holder and the tray wall 32, peripheral portions of the flanges 48, at opposite ends of the holder engage the inner surface of the tray wall 32, and as best shown in Fig. 2, a space is left between the peripheral wall 46 and the inner surface of the tray wall 32. Thus, room is provided for the extensible buckle or connector with which wrist watch straps are frequently provided. The holder projects beyond the free edges of the side walls 34 and hence can be conveniently grasped when it is desired to remove it from the tray.

I have illustrated the container as used for holding and displaying a wrist watch, indicated generally in dotted lines in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Referring to these figures of the drawing, it will be observed that the wrist Watch 60, having a Wrist watch strap 62 attached thereto, is mounted on the holder [4 in the same position as they would assume while in their normal condition of wear on the Wrist. The wrist watch strap 62 encircles the peripheral surface 46 in engagement therewith and thereby holds the watch in proper position on said surface. As is usually the case, the wrist watch strap is adjustable in order to meet obvious requirements and on that account the strap may be adjusted to engage the peripheral surface 46 as tightly as may be desired to secure the watch in the desired position on the holder. The wrist watch and attached strap, bracelet or other articles, may be packed and shipped in the present containers, and said containers, as will readily be apparent, can be made very attractive in appearance in various ways, as by covering the same with velvet or similar material in various colors thus making it unnecessary to unpack the watches or other articles from the containers for display purposes. Furthermore, as previously explained, the holder l4 carrying the article offered for sale may be readily removed from the container to enable the prospective purchaser to observe all portions of the wrist watch strap, including the buckle or connector with which said straps are usually provided.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that certain changes in the construction and arrangement of parts may be made therein and that certain parts may be omitted without departing from the essential principles of the invention. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the precise constructions or combinations of elements herein shown or described, except as may be required by the appended claims considered with reference to the prior art.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A display container comprising a support having walls defining a recess therein, a tray pivotally mounted on said walls and movable from one position in which it substantially overlies said recess to another position in which it projects into said recess, the pivot for said tray being offset whereby one end of the tray clears the adjacent end of the container in the movement of the tray from one of said positions to the other, and means for holding an article in said tray in both of said positions.

2. A display container comprising a support having a plurality of walls including spaced side walls, a tray having a front wall and side walls, a pivotal connection between said side walls of the support and tray, respectively, said side walls of the tray being disposed between and adjacent to the side walls of said support and said pivotal connection being located between the ends of said tray, whereby said tray is movable from one position in which said front wall of the tray is uppermost to another position in which the free side edges of the tray are uppermost, the pivot for said tray being offset whereby one end of the tray clears the adjacent end of the container in the movement of the tray from one of said positions to the other, said front wall constituting the bottom of the tray in the last mentioned tray position and means for holding an article in said tray in both of said positions.

3. A display container comprising a support having walls defining a recess therein, a tray piv otally mounted on said walls and movable from one position in which it substantially overlies said recess to another position in which it projects into said recess, and means for holding an article in said tray in both of said positions comprising a member removably positioned within and projecting beyond the free edges of the side walls of said tray.

4. A display container comprising a supporthaving a plurality of walls including spaced side walls, a tray having a front wall and side walls, a pivotal connection between said side walls of the support and tray, respectively, said side walls of the tray being disposed between and adjacent to the side walls of said support and said pivotal connection being located between the ends of said tray, whereby said tray is movable from one position in which said front wall of the tray is uppermost to another position in which the free side edges of the tray are uppermost, and means for holding an article in said tray in both of said positions comprising a member projecting beyond the free edges of the side walls of said tray and removable together with said article as a unit from the tray when the latter is in said last mentioned position.

5. A display container comprising a support having a plurality of walls including spaced side walls, a tray having a front wall and side walls, a pivotal connection between said side walls of the support and tray, respectively, said side walls of the tray being disposed between and adjacent to the side walls of said support and said pivotal connection being located between the ends of said tray, whereby said tray is movable from one position in which said front wall of the tray is uppermost to another position in which the free side edges of the tray are uppermost, and means for holding an article in said tray in both of said positions comprising a removable member disposed between said side walls of the tray in frictional engagement therewith;

6. A display container comprising a support having a plurality of walls including spaced side walls, a tray having a curved front wall and planar side walls, a pivotal connection between said side walls of the tray and support, respectively, and means for holding an article in said tray comprising a member having a curved peripheral surface and planar sides, said member being removable from said tray together with the article carried thereby but having a releasable engagement with the tray whereby the latter may be moved on its pivot to position the front wall thereof uppermost with said member held in the tray and covered by the latter and the walls of said support.

'7. A display container cqmprising a support having a plurality of walls including spaced side walls, a tray having a curved front wall and planar side walls, a pivotal connection between said side walls of the tray and support, respectively, and means for holding an article in said tray comprising a member having a curved peripheral surface about which a wrist encircling element of the article may be fastened, said member having side walls adapted to frictionally engage the side walls of the tray and projecting beyond the latter whereby said member may be removed from the tray or releasably held therein.

JOHN GU'I'TMAN. 

